Immunisation weekly update – 7 April 2021

7 April 2021

GPs needed for new mass vaccination centre

Sydney Local Health District is establishing a new COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Sydney Olympic Park and is looking to recruit Visiting Medical Officers-GPs to work at the clinic. 

Applications close before midnight 8 April 2021.

Preparation for general practices not participating in Phase 1B

Not participating in Phase 1b of rollout?

Start preparing your practice NOW for the next phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Ensure that all immunisation providers at your practice have complete the following: 

Immunisation modules:

• Mandatory: COVID-19 Vaccination Training Program (including AstraZeneca training module) 
• Mandatory (in NSW): NSW Health Vaccine Storage and Cold Chain Management module  
• Recommended: Anaphylaxis e-training course for health professionals 2021 

See also other COVID-19 related education and training modules.   

Digital tools for COVID-19 vaccination 

• PRODA: register for a PRODA account 
• Australian Immunisation Register (AIR): How to use the online AIR functions  
• Clinician Vaccine Integrated Platform (CVIP) CVIP eLearning course 

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: clinical information

AstraZeneca vaccine training  

All practice staff who will be administering the vaccine, including the supervising general practitioner, must complete the COVID-19 vaccine training before commencing vaccinations. 

AstraZeneca vaccine Safety data 

Read AstraZeneca’s Safety Data Sheet for information on what to do in the event of COVID-19 vaccine accidents: 

• Actions to take if vaccine is inhaled 
• Actions to take in case of skin contact  
• Actions to take in case of eye contact  
• Actions to take if vaccine is swallowed 

The Safety Data Sheet also provides information on containment and cleaning up of spillage, and environmental precautions to prevent accidental release.  

AstraZeneca vaccine and clotting conditions  

ATAGI continues to recommend vaccination for people with blood clotting conditions, both with AstraZeneca and Pfizer, and maintain the benefits far outweigh any risks. See ATAGI released a statement for health care providers on the suitability of COVID-19 vaccines for people with a history of clotting conditions.  

ATAGI has recommended that people with a confirmed medical history of heparin induced thrombocytopenia and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis defer vaccination while evidence specific to them is considered.  

Report any unexpected or serious adverse events, including thrombotic disorders, following any COVID-19 vaccines. 

AstraZeneca vaccine and Immunocompromise 

ATAGI – Provider guide to COVID-19 vaccination of people with immunocompromise is a guide to support health professionals who are counselling patients with immunocompromise regarding COVID-19 vaccination.  

COVID-19 vaccination should be strongly encouraged for people with immunocompromise, however for some patients the optimal timing of vaccination requires special consideration.  

AstraZeneca vaccine excess doses  

Excess doses are vials of COVID-19 vaccine which will expire before the next scheduled vaccination clinic or when patients are booked for COVID-19 vaccine. Where possible, practices should aim to minimise excess doses.  

Ensure your practice is familiar with the policy details: AstraZeneca excess doses. This is for general practices, GP Respiratory Clinics and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. 

COVID-19 vaccine: operational information

What is CVAS? 

The CVAS (COVID-19 Vaccine Administration System) is a digital ordering and inventory management system that vaccination providers can use to order COVID-19 vaccines and related products, as well as report delivery acceptance, stock on hand and wastage.

Vaccination providers who have been onboarded to the Australian COVID 19 Vaccine Roll out Program by the Department of Health are able to use the CVAS.

If you need to correct information that you have inputted into the CVAS and you have access to the CVAS, you can make amendments directly in the CVAS. If you need further assistance, you can contact the Vaccine Operations Centre.

Login to the CVAS online portal www.health.gov.au/cvas.

What is the VOC?

Following on-boarding, the VOC (Vaccine Operations Centre) will be the central contact point in the Department of Health to assist practices with the management of the operations component of the national COVID-19 vaccine roll-out program. The VOC will: 

• manage vaccine allocation and ordering across vaccination sites
• manage and coordinate safe delivery and storage of vaccines with DHL and Linfox
• coordinate the response to incidents impacting the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out program.

Contact VOC at 1800 318 308 (7 am – 10 pm AEST) or email COVID19VaccineOperationsCentre@Health.gov.au

Ordering COVID-19 vaccines

All ordering and stock management for general practices should occur through the CVAS online portal (CVAS).

Stock allocations

Current allocations provided to each site may be reviewed in the future as vaccine availability increases and data on usage and demand across the system becomes available.

Where to report issues 

If your practice is having any issues with registering or ordering, please contact the VOC hotline on 1800 318 208 or email COVID19VaccineOperationsCentre@Health.gov.au

If your practice is having any issues with delivery or cold chain breaches, please report these to CVAS and the VOC as soon as possible.

Find a COVID-19 vaccine clinic

The Vaccine Clinic Finder currently contains week 1, 2 and 3 practices which have successfully registered in the COVID-19 Vaccine Administration System (CVAS). This list will be updated over the coming days and weeks in line with new registrations and orders, and new sites coming on board. 

The Vaccine Clinic Finder is linked to the Vaccine Eligibility Checker.

New COVID-19 resources

Australian Government Department of Health have developed new useful resources:

• An easy print COVID-19 vaccine consent form
• Disability Priority groups for COVID-19 Vaccination Program: Phase 1b factsheet which outlines which disability priority groups are eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in Phase 1b. This includes some people with disability, carers, disability workers and volunteers.